This invention was developed in response to a human factors study which sought a rudder pedal mechanism that could give the correct pedal angle for all pilots. Current rudder pedal designs use governmental guidelines such as AFSC DH2-2, DN2A1, SUBNOTE 1(1) or 1(4); MS33574; MS33576; or MIL-STD-1333. Designs based on these specs result in incorrect pedal angles, mostly because the human factors data we have today was not available when those specs were written. Human limb length and limb rotation limitations are well documented now, and this documentation was used in developing this mechanism.
Foot-operated pedals for aircraft rudder, brake and nose landing gear steering control are familiar and well-known in the art. Operation of these devices can generally be described in that pedal rotation is used for brake control, and pedal displacement is used for both rudder and nose landing gear steering control. Over the years, many patents have issued on various pedal designs, the most pertinent of which, at least with regard to the present invention, are: U.S. Pat. No. 2,424,523 issued to Watter on July 22, 1947; U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,881 issued to Lucas on Apr. 16, 1968; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,516,397 issued to Kress et al. on July 25, 1950.
A typical defect in many past designs, and which is addressed to a certain degree in the Lucas and Kress patents, is the failure to provide a means for adjusting normal pedal fore and aft position, as well as pedal surface angles so that they can be made comfortably reachable for operation by pilots of different stature. For example, for reasons stated above, those designs currently used in the commercial aircraft field do not fully address the limitations of human reach and movement. Although the typical design makes rudder pedal throw without brake application well within the capability of people of one stature, people of another stature tend to experience discomfort when performing this movement.
Although the present invention has many advantages, which will be discussed more fully below, the invention addresses the above defect by providing a pedal-operated control device that is comfortably operable by nearly all pilots. In accomplishing this, the invention provides a pedal design that permits pedal operation within the constraints of minimum human limb rotation angles and permits adjustment of pedal position according to the individual needs of each pilot.